ZTE has launched its tablet PC on the Indonesian market.
The Light Tab launch follows the launch in Europe, Japan, and Malaysia. The device is offered for US$336.4
On 04.13.11, In Mobile, By Editor
On 03.29.11, In Mobile, By Editor
ZTE has stated that it has won a contract to deploy the world’s first LTE TDD/FDD dual-mode networks in Sweden and Denmark on behalf of 3G network operator, Hi3G. As part of the deal, ZTE will also deliver 3G infrastructure equipment to upgrade the operator’s 3G network.
Hi3G Access is a 60:40 joint venture between Hong Kong’s Hutchison-Whampoa and Sweden’s Investor AB.
According to Peder Ramel, CEO at Hi3G, they have chosen ZTE for additional 3G 900/2100 rollout and for LTE mobile broadband networks in Sweden and Denmark because of the possibility to house three different mobile standards in the same physical infrastructure and the low cost of ownership. Furthermore, ZTE advanced LTE dual-mode solutions and quick consignment responses really meet our requirements.
Hi3G will exploit its spectrum resources by rolling out two versions of LTE. The two versions are usually referred to as Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). The main benefit of the TDD version is that it can make full use of TDD spectrums to maximize data throughout and enhance user experience. Hi3G has acquired 50MHz of TDD spectrum in Sweden and 25 MHz of TDD spectrum in Denmark.
The TDD version of LTE is also used in other parts of the world, for example China. The use of TDD LTE by China will facilitate the world-wide availability of TDD LTE terminals.
On 03.29.11, In Mobile, By Editor
ZTE reportedly sold 2 million handsets in France 2010, doubling its year-earlier volume, and is expected to sell 3 million units this year.
The company currently has a slightly over 5% share of the French mobile phone market. It sells the Link and Blade smartphones and 3G dongles through mobile operator Bouygues Telecom, while the two bigger mobile networks, Orange France and SFR, put their own brands on ZTE-manufactured devices.
ZTE is also going to launch new smartphones in May and a light 3G tablet after the summer. Orange is also testing a new customer box from ZTE. The Chinese company would like to develop its network equipment business in Europe, where its rival Huawei has succeeded in gaining a foothold.
ZTE, which does provide network equipment to France Telecom, but only for overseas territories, has two research centres in Europe. One in Paris works on value added services and one in Stockholm focuses on radio access technologies. ZTE has signed 15 LTE contracts around the world and its regional director for Western Europe, Lin Cheng, anticipates the China’s TDD technology will spread in Europe for LTE, notably because it can support more mobile traffic than FDD at the same cost.
On 03.23.11, In Mobile, By Editor
Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co.”GO” signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ZTE Corporation on Monday, March 21 to deploy fiber-optic network within the cities (Metro Fiber Ring). The first phase of this network implementation project will start in Riyadh city and will serve the government sectors and business (FTTB) and homes (FTTH).
Eng. Zaid Al Shabanat, Chief Executive of GO Telecom stated “We are pleased to sign this Memorandum of Understanding, which represents a new step towards building the most advanced telecommunications network in the Kingdom. The new fiber-optics network integrates with the Fourth Generation (4G) wireless communications technology, WiMAX 802.16e, to provide GO Telecom products & services that meet the needs of government, business and home sectors, both for Broadband Internet service and Voice services, and opens up more opportunities to provide other Value-Added Services. The second phase of the project will continue in each of the cities of Jeddah and Dammam. Building a new fiber optics network will reinforce the infrastructure of the company and its competitive standing in the Saudi market and will establish a long-term partnership with ZTE Corporation. It should be noted that the founding partners of Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” have committed to 65% share upon the raise of company capital.”
On 03.21.11, In Mobile, By Editor
Oi, Brazilian mobile network has reported four companies that will participate in its LTE trials in the country – Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, ZTE and Nokia Siemens Networks.
According to reports, there is a market expectation that the first LTE networks will come into operation before the 2014 World Cup.
Oi will be conducting the trials both in laboratory conditions and in live networks in several – still to be determined – cities. The exact deployment for each of the infrastructure suppliers is still being finalized.
The regulator is expected to grant a temporary license covering the 2.5 GHz bands for the tests.
On 03.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor
Telkom Kenya, controlled by France Telecom’s Orange has stated that it has selected China’s ZTE Corp to launch its 3G network countrywide.
According to Telekom’s Chief Executive Mickael Ghossein, the company will invest US$46.56 million in the network to improve its market standing, and the service is expected to be up and running at the end of the first half of 2011. They expect the roll out to be complete by latest May, and the launch should be in June this year.
The company has 1,500 sites on 3G across East Africa’s biggest economy and stated its customers would enjoy speeds that could enable them download a song from the Internet in less than a minute.
Telkom aims to double its subscribers to about 4.6 million by year-end, in line with its overall goal to become the country’s No. 2 player by 2015 after market leader Safaricom.
The company acquired the 3G licence, the country’s third, for $10 million in November last year, after the country’s telecoms regulator reduced the price from $25 million.
On 03.16.11, In Mobile, By Editor
Malaysia’s 3G mobile network operator U Mobile has signed a deal with ZTE for the expansion of its HSPA network and the eventual launch of an LTE upgrade in key cities.
The agreement is a joint development which will see U Mobile extending its 42 Mbps mobile network to Central, Western and Northern areas of the country by the second half of 2011 for the first phase. This will be followed by the installation of LTE platforms which can support 100 Mbps across Malaysia in the near future.
No financial or timeline details were provided.
On 03.14.11, In Mobile, By Editor
A new research report has revealed that smartphone shipments are expected to hit 137 million units in 2011, the first time for shipments to break the 100 million mark in the Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region.
As per researchers, smartphones were a hot item in 2010, with more than double the shipments of 2009. In 2011, researchers expect this fire to keep burning as mobile phone vendors race to get consumers on higher-margin devices, operators look to pull up revenues on mobile data, and mobile platform stakeholders’ battle to woo app developers.
Mobile phone shipments, made up of feature phones and smartphones, will rise by a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34% in the APEJ region, nearly doubling to 942 million units from 551 million units shipped in 2010. Both feature phones and Smartphones had a strong showing in 2010. Feature phones grew 17% year-on-year in 2010 as the low-end with Chinese and local brands driving up the sub-US$100 segment. As a result, players like ZTE in China and G-Five in India moved up in the regional top 5 rankings for 2010.
However, by 2015, smartphones will grow eight times as fast as feature phones to reach 359 million units. Three in five mobile phones shipped in 2015 will be smartphones, up from one in five in 2010.
A lot of the steam behind this smartphone movement so far has come from mature markets, given that smartphones are generally more expensive. In South Korea alone, smartphones have cranked up by a factor of 10 in 2010, largely thanks to Apple and Samsung. Nokia by contrast has been squarely focused on bringing Symbian OS phones down in price below US$200 for emerging markets like India and Vietnam.
For 2011 and beyond, researchers also expect a lot more brands to come in at a lower price point on Android, which will help not only pull up demand in emerging markets, but also make feature phone users across all markets consider upgrading to smartphones.
Up till now, Nokia and the Symbian OS has been the undisputed smartphone market leader in APEJ. It is believed that Android will overtake Symbian as soon as this year as Nokia’s new products on Windows Phone won’t be available until the end of the year.
On 03.10.11, In Mobile, By Editor
Reliance Communications (RCom) has finalized a $1.93 billion Chinese loan which will help it save millions of interest. The loan, the largest ever between the two Asian giants, comes amid often frosty relations.
According to Reliance, it will use $1.33 billion to refinance pricey 3G spectrum fees and the rest for imports of Chinese telecom equipment from Huawei and ZTE. It would see annual interest cost savings of more than $111 million.
China Development Bank has underwritten the loan and is part of a consortium of Chinese banks providing funding. Reliance Communications, India’s second biggest mobile phone operator, had in December signed an accord with China Development Bank for a $1.93 billion, 10-year, syndicated loan.
The drawdown of the loan is likely to start this month.
Reliance Communications has to reduce a $7 billion mountain of debt ahead of major bond redemption next year.